For 12 years, Dr Patrick Theillier was in charge of the Lourdes Medical Examinations Office. In his book “Lourdes, Terre de guérisons”, he testifies that healings do indeed take place at Lourdes, and in large numbers. The international medical committee responsible for examining healings reported by pilgrims has recognized that over 7,200 cases in total are cures unexplained by science. The Catholic Church applies even stricter criteria and has recognized 70 miraculous healings. Moreover, the actual number of healings is much higher than those declared. Few people who have been cured dare to take the long and arduous route of submitting their case to a group of doctors, who are responsible for ascertaining :
- that they were very ill;
- that they have been definitively cured;
- and their recovery cannot be explained medically.
Integral healings
Patrick Theillier also testifies – and perhaps above all – that the people who have come to see him have not “only” been healed in body. They all claim “to have been touched in all their being, including in their deepest heart, this sacred place recognized by all religions”. The cures at Lourdes involve the whole person, body, soul and spirit.
His book describes a large number of healings that have taken place since the apparitions of the Virgin Mary to Bernadette in 1858. He emphasizes that the criteria for recognition of these miracles by the Catholic Church are particularly strict, to be as conclusive as possible. As a result, the actual number of inexplicable healings is much higher than that officially recognized. Of over 7,000 healings reported to the medical office, only 70 were declared “miraculous”.
Here are a few extracts from Patrick Theillier’s book.
The best way to discern these healings is not so much to look for “where it’s coming from”, which isn’t always obvious, but rather “where it’s leading to”. There’s nothing paranormal or occult about what’s happening at Lourdes. It’s not magic, it doesn’t lead to superstition. The permanent miracle of Lourdes is the love in action that is lived out at every moment. These miracles open us up to another dimension. While always leaving us free to close or open up to it.
What is a miracle?
“In the miracle, there is enough clarity for those who want to believe, and enough darkness for those who don’t,” said Blaise Pascal.
A miracle is a fact that science can never explain or reproduce, but in which the recipient – and/or witnesses – see a sign and an act of God’s love. Both parts of this definition are important: the purpose of miracles is not simply to ensure our health or prosperity, but to bring us face to face with the essential: God exists and He loves us!
So miracles are first and foremost a “sign” of God’s love, a manifestation of God as a friend of mankind, proof of his loving, personal relationship with us.
What about spontaneous healing?
A common argument is that this is a “spontaneous remission”. In fact, medical literature describes remissions of serious illnesses that cannot be explained “according to the state of our scientific knowledge”. Skeptics use this to argue that there are statistically as many miracles in hospitals as at Lourdes…
It’s already a recognition that medicine is not an exact science and that it ignores certain things! But there is a clear difference between spontaneous healings and miracles. In the case of spontaneous remission, the person is usually unaware of when he or she has gradually recovered. What’s more, she generally sees no particular cause. These cures are a statistical “anomaly”. They should, however, raise questions for medical science, because something is going on here that goes beyond the current medical paradigm. But they have nothing to do with a miracle.
Miracles are by nature spiritual
First and foremost, we must understand that miraculous healing comes from God. The specificity of this healing is that the patient knows and feels that he is being cured at a precise moment, which he recognizes without hesitation. This healing manifests itself in psychosomatic signs: “sensation of warmth”, “inner quivering or trembling”, “hot breath”, and so on.
But the signs are above all spiritual: peace, joy, love, inner strength. The person has a clear, certain and precise awareness of their healing, and there is a “before” and an “after” for them. She emerges different, transformed, in all her dimensions – physical, psychic and spiritual. This healing is complete, total and definitive.
As Bernard Billet puts it: “More and more people come to Lourdes to be healed. In fact, people are always healed – but not always in the same way: conversion is also healing, and physical healing is a sign of salvation of the spirit”.
A moving testimony
Here’s a testimonial that I find very moving and striking, that of a woman suffering from multiple sclerosis (MS) at a very advanced stage. She describes perfectly how her healing affected the whole of her being, not just her body. She also explains that it wasn’t so easy to live after her recovery, or even to talk about it. This is in line with the accounts of many Emists.
“MS is a horror, but it made me realize that my life was a sham. I’d built it on appearances, the quest for power and money, on pseudo-values that suddenly rang hollow. The decor was collapsing into emptiness. In those days, you shouldn’t have talked to me about God.
On the third day, during mass, I decided to be patient. I looked at the statue. And then something happened inside me. I turned to the Lord: “I’m scared Lord and I’m hurting, what do you want from me, why all these tears?” Then I asked Mary to welcome me, stripped and receptive, with the distress of my heart. I think my heart whispered to Marie: “You’re a woman, you’re a mother, you must understand what I’m going through. In fact, I can’t take it anymore…”
A deep consolation
And I broke down and started crying and crying. The more I cried, the more Marie took me in her arms and comforted me. A wonderful warmth enveloped me. Something was changing inside me. I had the deep conviction that a Mother from Heaven had just visited me, had given me a sign. When I came home – still in my wheelchair – my husband found me very changed: “You’re accessible, and… cheerful”.
I was suffering physically but, it’s true, I was happy. I was no longer a block, an armor, a shell. I had tasted a sweetness. I now knew that the smiles of these volunteers came from the heart and that this heavenly Mother was holding my hand. I even thought, “Okay, I’ve met Mary, but that’s enough, don’t push me too hard with Jesus!”
Back to Lourdes
And I wanted to return to Lourdes the following year. I wanted to ask Marie for a break from my illness: it was progressing too fast and I couldn’t enjoy my children. So I went back in May 2004. I wanted to do everything, but my body just couldn’t keep up. And when I wanted to go to the pools, I was so exhausted that the doctor refused. One of the hospital girls was so insistent that he finally broke down. At the pool, I’m held by two companions, my feet in the water. We prayed, they plunged into me, and suddenly, like a ball of fire, I felt overwhelmed by an unheard-of, pure, immensely powerful love.
Jesus set his eyes on me
It’s unbelievable! My eyes stung, my legs burned. The first words I could stammer out were, “Jesus has set his eyes on me, I know he loves me, loves us.” A few hours later, during the procession of the Blessed Sacrament, my wheelchair burst. I was offered one of those blue carts I used to hate. I had no choice. So I get up, and stand there waiting for the cart. I’ll stay up… !
The Lourdes effect
I immediately thought: “It’s the Lourdes effect! I have my respite, thank you Marie”. I didn’t show anything at the time. The next night, in a frenzy of excitement, I tested the “Lourdes effect”: I was able to walk to the bathroom without any help. I could feel the cold tiles beneath my feet. I could see normally: my field of vision had gone from 5% to 99%. Extraordinary!
My problem was that I couldn’t tell anyone: there’s no such thing as miracles! Even in Lourdes… And then, I thought it would just be a respite. However, on the following June 19, I had a follow-up MRI: it showed only two small scars. The disease had disappeared. In short, I was cured. The only tasks that remained were in my soul. These are the ones I set out to treat. Indeed, I now knew that Christ was not a super-guru but my Savior. And his love, so powerful, had almost made me explode; it had irradiated my nerves, my body, and, by the way, it had burned away the sickness along with the ache in my soul.
Sometimes difficult after-effects
This healing was an inner liberation. She opened a path for me, offering me a new life in the light. Let’s be clear: it’s wonderful, but it’s no picnic. In some ways, it’s a real pain. Many people – including priests – look at me with suspicion and recommend silence. Now, there’s no question of shouting it out in the public square, but an encounter like this that changes your life, your heart – and your body, like a sign – it’s still good to be able to share it!
And then in a village, all hell broke loose: I was “the handicapped one” and here I am standing up: bizarre! Some people think I’ve ripped off the health insurance… At home, I had to find a balance in tasks and roles with my husband, and rediscover myself with the children. Today, I lead an absolutely normal life. I took up my associative commitments with Secours Catholique, preparing people for the faith, accompanying people suffering from MS, etc.
Joy remains
And I pray unceasingly: “Mary, keep me in peace; Jesus, I trust in you.” A new life has begun with Christ. And a third child was born to us. We named her Marie, of course, and I added Lou… for praise. For I never cease to give thanks for the wonders the Lord has done for “sinners” like me! The three words that guide me are: “Oui, Servante, Alléluia”. Their initials – OSA – sound better than SEP, don’t you think?”
Miraculous healings are signs
Miracles are signs. So what are these miraculous healings all about? Simply true healing. Miraculous healings reveal the true healing we can experience, the healing of the heart that opens wide the doors to that “inner castle” described by the mystics, that passage into the “other world” indicated by the Virgin to Bernadette. The miracles of Lourdes can be said to be icons of this integral healing, to which we are all called.
Find out more: Patrick Theillier has written several books, including two devoted to IMEs. You can find his books, for example, at Fnac or on Amazon.
On miraculous cures, see also the article Can miracles heal?
